Remember reading that a new Chromebox made by Acer was on the way? Well, today the computing giant has made it official.
After making a brief appearence in a leaked company ‘solutions’ brochure last month, today’s formal reveal gives us a chance to learn more about the ‘Acer Chromebox CXI’ — the company’s first desktop PC running Chrome OS.
Set to go on sale later next month in the US at a starting price of $180 it is being aimed, primarily, at education and business customers — something underlined by the inclusion of a Trusted Platform Model (TPM) security chip.
Acer Chromebox Specifications
Specifications remain consistent with those of ASUS and HP Chromeboxes. The entry-level CXI comes kitted out with a peppy dual-core Intel Celeron 2957U (Haswell) processor running at 1.4GHz. This is paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of flash-based storage.
For expansion the device houses 4x USB 3.0 ports, including two with ‘power-off charging for smartphones and tablets’ and an SD card reader. There’s HDMI and DisplayPort out, ethernet, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 for connectivity.
Acer is also (wisely) bundling in a mouse and Chrome OS keyboard combo.
Options for 4GB and 8GB of RAM and larger storage options will also be available.
“The Acer Chromebook CXI is an excellent fit for schools and any other institution or business where conserving costs and space are high priorities,” Simon Hwang, the president of Acer Stationary Computing and Display Business Group says.
“Due to the ease of management, the Chromebox can significantly reduce technical support and consequently lower the total cost of ownership.”
Availability
The Acer Chromebox CXI is available to buy ‘leading retailers and resellers in the United States and Canada’, including Amazon. It’s priced from $179.99 (CA$199) for the base model, and $219.99 (CA$239) for the 4GB version.
We’ll be keeping a beady eye on the usual outlets, but if you happen to notice it go live before us — let us know!
- Source: Acer PR (via Liliputing)